Since October 2013, the Mutahidun
party that runs Anbar has tried to negotiate with Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki to put an end to the protests in the province. There have been
several meetings between officials in Baghdad and Anbar over the last several
weeks to try to work out some concessions between the two that might appease
the demonstrators. Both sides are worried about the increasing terrorist threat
in Anbar, and Mutahidun would also like to focus upon governance that would
require the cooperation of Baghdad. As those steps were being taken however,
the protesters said they were no longer interested in the talks. That leaves
the future of this effort up in the air.
Tribal and local officials from
Anbar have held a series of meetings with their counterparts in Baghdad.
Several sheikhs for example met with the Iraqi army to discuss better
cooperation over security in October. Prime Minister Maliki ordered the
army to release some family members, and to offer rewards for any intelligence
the tribes might offer. The next month members of the Awakening talked with the premier. Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha promised to come up with 30 Awakening
groups to confront Al Qaeda in Iraq in the province, and in turn the premier
said that he would arm and fund them. One sheikh believed that Parliament Speaker
Osama Nujafi who heads Mutahidun had worked out this agreement. Later in the
month, Maliki met with the Anbar provincial council. Afterward a number of concessions
were announced including the release of 85 billion dinars to the council, the
approval of building an airport and refinery in the province, having the
Finance Ministry continue projects already underway, the addition of 2,500 new
police to the governorate, dismissing the provincial police chief, reducing the
power of the Anbar Operations Command, withdrawing some of its forces, the
release of 67 female prisoners, and the end of arresting family members for
the crimes of their relatives. The two sides set 35 days as the time limit
to implement these plans. The deputy head of the Anbar council Saleh Issawi
added that the premier wanted to address the demands of the demonstrators as
well with issues such as the anti-terrorism law, the Accountability and Justice
Law, and the release of prisoners. Issawi said that Maliki wanted to resolve
those before the 2014 elections. Finally, acting Defense Minister Adnan Dulaimi
met with notables and sheikhs to talk about security at the very end of
November. The head of the provincial council Sabah Kahout al-Halbousi believed
that these meetings opened the door to better relations with Baghdad, while
the prime minister stated that these talks were important to bring Anbar into the fight against militants. The fear of the insurgency is a major
motivator for Maliki to reconcile with the province. The security forces have
not been able to handle the rebirth of Al Qaeda in Iraq and other groups in
Anbar, and the loss of support of the Awakening and tribes has not helped. Mutahidun
is also concerned with the growing violence in Anbar, because it disrupts its
plans to rule the governorate. It is hoping that a deal with Baghdad will empower
the council by bringing in much needed money and development, while putting an
end to the protests, which are now considered a distraction.
The demonstrators are not so
pliable however. One leader of the movement said that Maliki was only dealing
with services in these spat of meetings, and not the demands of the protestors.
Another said that only the governor of Anbar had been selected to represent them,
so the meetings with the provincial council meant nothing. He believed that the
premier was not serious about their demands anyway. Then on December 3, the
activists withdrew their support for the governor claiming he had failed. It
was always questionable that any deal between Mutahidun and Baghdad would end
the protests, which are made up of various groups with no real central
organizing committee. The hope appeared to be that if some concessions were
gained from Maliki then parts of the demonstrators would walk away, and
eventually the entire movement would end. Some of the activists connected to
Mutahidun were willing to go along with this idea, but not anymore. At the same
time the protesters have lost their main political backer, and might be without
some of the tribes as well, which could eventually lead to their end.
The Mutahidun party jumped on the
protest bandwagon when they began in Anbar in December 2012, but now appear to
believe they have outlived their usefulness. Today, the Anbar governor,
council, and various sheikhs are holding a series of negotiations in an attempt
to gain more support from the central government, and in turn close down the
protests sites with whatever concessions they can gain. On Maliki’s part he is
now interested in these talks, because he feels threatened by the re-birth of
Al Qaeda and its wave of attacks it is carrying out in Anbar and into Baghdad.
He is hoping that talks with provincial notables can bring them back into the
fold so that they can jointly confront the insurgency. This is especially
important for both sides because parliamentary elections will be held next
year, and all parties are interested in showing progress on the security front
or else they will be blamed and could lose votes in the process. The problem is
that the protest movement is not directly involved in any of these meetings,
and has now withdrawn its backing for the governor to talk with the prime
minister. The political parties are likely to continue their bargaining anyway,
and hope that the demonstrations will eventually collapse of their own accord
as the elite are much more comfortable dealing with each other than including
popular movements.
SOURCES
AIN, “Dulaimi discuss security file with chieftains of Anbar
province,” 11/30/13
- “Police commander dismissed, 67 detainees released in
Anbar,” 11/25/13
Al Forat, “Demonstrators in Anbar withdraw authorization to
Governor to negotiate with government over their demands,” 12/2/13
Al-Mada, “Maliki and the government of Anbar: focus on
strengthening the army and the police priority to the stability and security of
the province,” 11/26/13
National Iraqi News Agency, “Abu-Risha announce the
formation of 30 armed units to confront al-Qaeda in Anbar,” 11/22/13
- “Chairman of Anbar Council: Maliki promised to visit Anbar
at the end of current month,” 11/26/13
- “Maliki declares to respond to the legitimate demands of
Anbar province,” 11/27/13
Niqash, “unintended consequences: extremists causing
sunni-shiite reconciliation,” 11/7/13
Al-Qaisi, Mohammed, “Iraq’s Sahwa strengthen border
security: Abu Reesha,” Al-Shorfa, 11/19/13
Sabah, Mohammad, “Leading role in Awakening: Hardan
al-Maliki acknowledge the failure and we agreed to re-formations in 2006,”
Al-Mada, 11/25/13
- “Maliki signed himself “package demands” made by Anbar ..
The negotiators have 35 days,” 11/27/13
Shafaq News, “Maliki’s meeting with Anbar delegation ends
with a number of agreements,” 11/25/13
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